State Cracks Down on Deceptive Dairy Practices
Food Commissioner McDonald orders grocers to pull or label condensed milk artificially colored to suggest higher butterfat content.
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K. A. McDonald, state dairy and food commissioner, has issued a circular to the grocers' associations regarding the disposition of the 'Oregon' brand of condensed milk. A few days ago Commissioner McDonald discovered that the milk contained a coloring matter, the intention of which was to make the milk appear to contain more butter and cream than it really did. As this is a violation of the state law, the milk was ordered withdrawn from sale. It was not claimed, the circular states, that the coloring matter in the milk is anything injurious, but that the simple fact that the presence of the coloring matter is liable to deceive the public is a violation of the state law. Mr. McDonald advises grocers who have a supply of the milk on hand to either exchange it for some that is uncolored, or mark it plainly so that the purchaser may not be deceived.
“the simple fact that the presence of the coloring matter is liable to deceive the public is a violation of the state law.”
Food transparency and truth-in-labeling remain vital consumer protections in Washington, echoing these early 20th-century efforts to prevent corporate fraud in the grocery aisle.
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